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Towing comparison 5.3 Ecotec VS 3.5 Ecoboost


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Hi Guys I'm new to the site and new to GM trucks as well, my previous truck was a 2013 F-150 XLT with the 3.5 Ecoboost and 3.55 gears it was rated to tow 9,800lbs. I Just purchased a new 2015 Sierra SLT 4x4 with the 5.3 and 3.42 gears rated to tow 9,100lbs.

 

Both of those numbers are significantly higher then I will be typically pulling and I am sure the Sierra is up to the task as the main things I towed with my F-150 was a 17ft fiberglass boat in the summer (approx 2500lbs dry) and an 18ft deck-over trailer with 4 snowmobiles in the winter (approx 4,800lbs) in the winter.

 

I have not had a chance to tow with my new Sierra yet as I am still breaking it in but I thought I would try and start an thread before I do looking to you guys for some insight and opinions and I will definitely let you know my experience on the towing differences between the two trucks once I have a chance to compare.

 

What I noticed with my F-150 was its very strong torque curve which allowed it to pull my trailers very easily, the transmission in tow/haul was also very good about picking a gear on the highway (usually 5th) and being able to hold it without hunting or lugging the engine. The downside as I am sure many have heard/experienced is the ecoboost is horribly inefficient when towing especially in the cold weather, for example when towing my sleds in the winter it typically returned anywhere from 8-10 US MPG (29-23 L/100 KM).

 

My main concerns regarding the Sierra is that I notice GM has obviously tuned the transmission for maximum fuel economy as it is always looking to shift to 6th asap! I was wondering if when towing do you guys find putting it in tow/haul is enough to keep it from lugging the engine or gear hunting or do you tow using the manual mode?

 

Also anyone towing similar weight trailers who might be able to advise on what sort of fuel mileage I might be able to expect would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

 

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Tow/haul runs the transmission the opposite. It will hold gears if/when necessary and upshift only when appropriate and not try to get to 6th as fast as possible. Most of the time on the older 5.3 (2010-2013) you'd never see 6th gear, it would make it to 5th and unless you were on real flat ground, never touch 6th. Leaving it in D and tow/haul will let the engine run grade braking functions, but you could always upshift yourself if you choose to. I've always left it in D and tow/haul on when towing.

Edited by 15HDriver
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I tow my 26ft camper with my 2015 Silverado 1500 5.3 with 3.42 so our trucks are about the same. I use WD hitch when my hitch weight goes over 500lb with any of my trailers and my camper is about 4200 dry and about 5200 when I'm loaded plus I normally have two people, dog, and 350lb in the bed up near the cab. Through the mountains in southern west va I have no trouble keeping the truck between 60 and 80 most of the time I shift it my self but when I do leave it in tow mode it does a great job at finding a gear that's not 6. I generally get about 10-11 mpg but I'm also in to the throttle a lot and normally let the rpms hang out around 4000-4500 when I'm goin up a big grade in 4 gear with wide open throttle. Even in the summer all the temps stay cool and the truck is very happy doing it.

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I've never owned an ecoboost truck, but i can tell you, based on your specs you'll be very happy with the sierra towing. My 15 silverado cc 3.42/5.3 pulls my 5,000-6,000 loaded weight travel trailer great. 24' length. Sure in the mountains it works hard, but what small block with that much weight wouldn't? My weight does not include all the gear and firewood in the bed, plus my family of 4 in the cab. On one 11% grade i got down into the 2nd gear and 4500+ rpm, but man once there she pulled like a freight train. These newest generation chevy small blocks are great engines.

 

I'm sure the ecoboost is too, but as reliable as they may be, i just don't like the idea of worrying what the long term reliability of a boosted 6 banger will be.

 

Ford's 5.0 v8 is a good engine too and the one with the 3.73 gears i test drove felt just as strong as the chevy, maybe stronger, but ford does not have all the torque management the Chevrolets do. A few times when not towing i had to get into the throttle to get around some traffic and man does this truck have some juice! Very impressive in my opinion.

 

Even in the mountains i averaged 12 mpg towing. A lot better than the 8 or so i got with the 2000 ford expedition i traded. Your smart to wait to tow with it. The manual says no towing for the first 500 miles. I followed that and have no problems. Others that didn't wait I've heard had to have the rear end rebuilt!

 

Also when towing, i use tow / haul mode, which works great, and i keep the trans locked in M5 mode so all 8 holes Stay lit?. It's not required by any means, but i don't like it going into v4 mode when i have a big load on. Just my preference. I don't exceed 60mph towing so i don't really need 6th gear.

 

Hope this helps

 

-G

Edited by GsBowtie
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Thanks a lot for the responses guys that's great to hear that the tow/haul mode seems to work so effectively and looks like guys are seeing notably better fuel efficiency under load compared to the number's I used to get with my Ford.

 

I will report back with my towing comparisons once I have a chance to pull my trailers with this truck but based on what everyone has said I am looking forward it.

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  • 2 years later...

I was curious how the ecoboost would compare to the ecotec mpg wise. I heard good things highway cruising but turns into a guzzler when towing. It sounds like True North Trucking's real world results confirm the rumors. 8-10 just pulling snowmobiles is rough! I have put ~16,000 on my used 2014 silverado and have a sense of its gas milage now. It has the tow package and I towed a  2500 lb dual axle car trailer with a 2200 lb car from Maine to New Jersey in tow/haul mode and it averaged around 14 mpg, which i thought was pretty respectable. I am also not a fan of how fast the transmission downshifts but love the transmission logic in tow/haul mode. Unloaded 45-65 I get 21.5 mpg, 65-75 I get 19.5 mpg, drops after 75. Can't complain about those numbers with a full size truck! 

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Yeah, you can have Eco or you can have Boost.  Just not both at the same time.

 

BTW, this thread is nearly three years old, looks like the OP bought a 6.2.    :thumbs:

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